Summer Solstice
by Sunny Shadows
Summary: Bella's cousin comes to Forks for the summer and she ends up stirring up some trouble, of course... Plus, could she be the one girl who DOESN'T want to kiss Jake?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: So this is my new story. I hope you guys like it, and just for the record, I haven't quite read Breaking Dawn yet. So I don't know what happens, and please, PLEASE don't write any comments or reviews that will give it away! Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own the Twilight series and/or any characters, excluding any original characters, of course. Duh.**

* * *

I pulled my beat up Dodge Neon into the gravel driveway, suspicious I had been forgotten about when I didn't see my cousin's ancient truck or my uncle's police cruiser. According to MapQuest, I had traveled 2285.91 miles (It felt much longer to me.). I'd started in southwest Illinois and passed through Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana to get to my destination—Forks, Washington.

All that and they had forgotten about me.

I got out of the car and walked to the front porch, hoping they were still as predictable as I remembered. Standing on tiptoes, I reached up and felt for a key on the eaves of the door.

My fingers brushed against the key and knocked it onto the porch. Great. As I bent down to pick it up, two large white sneakers stopped right next to me. Startled, I looked up. How could he have gotten so close without me noticing?

"Hey." A russet skinned giant dressed in cutoff jeans and an opened button-down shirt—which revealed some pretty impressive muscles—grinned down at me. He had short-cropped black hair, chocolate brown eyes, and a thousand-watt grin.

"Hi," I said cautiously and stood up slowly. My fingers were clutched around the key, ready to use it as a weapon if need be, although something about his smile made him seem harmless.

"I'm Jacob Black," he introduced himself.

"Sarah Loker." My defenses began to drop slowly.

"I came by to see if Bella was around." He was eyeing the silver key in my hand probably thinking I was a burglar.

"I'm Bella's cousin," I explained. "I'm staying for the summer. I guess her and Charlie forgot I was coming today."

Jacob laughed. "Yeah, Charlie's watching the game with my dad."

"Just my luck," I muttered. Louder, I added, "And Bella's probably gallivanting around with her fiancé."

Jake's smile faltered for a split second, but he regained his composure so quickly I almost wondered if I had imagined it. "Well, welcome to Forks then."

"Thanks." At least I had one person on my welcoming committee. I mean, I hadn't been expecting a party or anything, but it would have been nice if someone had remembered.

"Do you want help getting your stuff inside?" Jacob offered his eyes flickering towards my car, which was crammed full of boxes.

I wasn't going to pass up his help. It would take me hours if I had to unload by myself. "Sure."

I unlocked the front door and left it wide open so we would be able to get the boxes inside more easily. Then, Jacob followed me to the car.

As he grabbed the first box, he asked teasingly, "Are you sure you're only staying for the summer? Because it looks like you packed up your entire life and stuffed it in here."

I grabbed a box for myself and started towards the house. Jacob followed behind me. "I am only staying for the summer, but then I'm headed off to California for the fall."

"College?"

I nodded, walking up the narrow flight of stairs slowly so I wouldn't trip. My room was the guest room at the end of the hall.

I opened the door and flicked on the light. The shades were pulled and the room looked like no one had ever used it. Knowing Charlie, no one probably had.

"Whoa," Jacob said in reaction to the hideous floral wallpaper and the matching floral comforter and pillow set.

"Whoa indeed." I wrinkled my nose in distaste. I set my box down on the wooden floor.

Jacob followed suit. "I hope you survive the summer in here."

I grimaced. "Me too."

We went back down and grabbed more boxes. After a few more trips, we were done. This was mainly due to the fact that while I could only manage to carry one box at a time, Jacob could carry multiple boxes at twice the speed.

"Thanks," I said gratefully once we were done and sank down onto the bed. My arms were tired.

"No problem." Jacob hadn't even broken a sweat. He leaned against the wall. "So where are you from?"

I guess since we were done unloading boxes and I wasn't huffing and puffing climbing the stairs he figured now would be a better time to talk.

"Illinois."

"Like Chicago?"

I smiled. "I wish. Further south, closer to St. Louis."

Jacob nodded thoughtfully. "So why are you visiting Forks your last summer before college? Don't your parents want you to spend it at home?"

I looked away from him. This was a harder question to answer. Maybe it would be easier if I lied…

Luckily, before I even had a chance to reply, I heard a faint roar coming down the street.

"Bella's back," Jacob told me.

The roar must be her ancient truck that she had emailed me about. I was glad for the distraction, and sure enough, as I looked out my window, Bella was pulling into the driveway beside my Neon.

"Sarah?" Bella called as she came up the stairs. She appeared in my room looking sheepish. "I'm sorry. I thought you were getting here tomorrow."

"Surprise," I said. "At least Jacob showed up to help me."

Bella's eyes stopped on Jacob who was still resting easily against the wall. She looked slightly uncomfortable. "Hey."

"Hey," Jacob replied coolly. "I should probably get going."

Was I missing something? I thought that Jacob had stopped by to see Bella, so why was he leaving when she had just gotten here?

"Okay," Bella said without arguing.

Jacob's eyes flicked back to me. "See you around."

Then he was gone.

I waited a moment before I asked, "What is going on between the two of you?"

"Nothing," Bella said, but I knew she was lying. It was written all over her face. "I'm going to go start dinner."

I was too tired to follow her downstairs to question her and demand some real answers. Instead, I curled up on the bed, not even bothering to pull back the hideous covers.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's the second installment. Third chapter should be up soon. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: still don't own Twilight, and still wish I did!**

* * *

I was in the woods. Everything was obscenely green and quiet, too quiet. It made me uneasy. I just stood there waiting. I had no idea what I was waiting for, but I was waiting.

Suddenly, an oversized wolf gracefully leapt out from a thick patch of trees and landed a few feet in front of me. Its russet color and dark eyes seemed familiar, but I couldn't place them.

Surprisingly, I didn't feel scared. The wolf just stood there and watched me for a long moment before disappearing back into the darkness of the trees.

I blinked back to awareness and rubbed my eyes groggily. Where was I? Then, as my eyes focused and I came face to face with a monstrous pink flower that was splashed against the bedspread, I realized that I was in my new room. In Forks.

I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was already a quarter after noon. I rolled onto my back with a sigh. I had been out cold for almost sixteen hours, but I didn't want to get up just yet. If I got up, I would have to start unpacking, which I was definitely not looking forward to. As Jacob had pointed out the day before, I had packed up pretty much my entire life.

Instead, I let my mind wander back to my dream. What was I doing out in the woods? Especially alone? And there was absolutely no way a wolf could get that big. Why hadn't it ripped me to shreds? Where did I know those eyes from?

I didn't get to think out it for very long because my stomach rumbled loudly. I hadn't eaten in longer than sixteen hours, and now I was starving.

I pushed myself up off the bed and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Bella was sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands.

"Alice is going overboard," she complained.

At first, I thought she was talking to me, but then as I entered the kitchen, I saw the most gorgeous guy I had ever seen. He had flawless porcelain skin, bronze hair, devastatingly high cheekbones, and an obviously well muscled body.

"Alice always does," he replied before turning his golden-eyed gaze towards me. "Hello."

"Hi," I breathed wondering why Bella hadn't told me that we were going to have company. I was dressed in my black tank and gray sweatpants from yesterday, and my hair was a mess from sleeping with a ponytail in.

"Sarah, this is Edward. Edward, Sarah," Bella introduced us. I was grateful for that because under Edward's intense gaze, I had forgotten my name.

"Of course," Edward said with a smile. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." I forced myself to look away before my brain completely turned to mush. Although she hadn't told me much about him, this was obviously Bella's fiancé, and I couldn't be seen drooling over him.

"Charlie said that he was sorry he missed you, but that he'd see you later," Bella relayed Charlie's message as I foraged around in the cabinets for a Pop-Tart and a plate. Then, she went back into the conversation I had interrupted. "Can you ask Alice just to scale back a little bit, _please_? If I ask her, it will hurt her feelings, but if you ask her…"

I assumed that Bella was talking about the wedding. I kept my face expressionless, but I started to slowly edge my way back to the stairs so I could eat in my room. I wasn't really in the mood for wedding planning and the like.

"Alright," Edward agreed. "I'll try, but I doubt she will listen."

Bella noticed me backing out of the room. "Did you want to hang out today?"

I knew she was asking just to be nice, but it was fine because I didn't feel like hanging out anyway. I shook my head. "I think I'm just going to start unpacking some of my stuff. I'll see you later though. Maybe we could do something tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Bella said. "Sure."

Then, I escaped upstairs back to the safety of my room. I shut my door behind myself with a foot and sat down on the floor with my back against the bed.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed certain unpleasant thoughts out of my mind. I had more important things to do than dwell on what had happened. Things were out of my control now.

About ten minutes later, I heard Edward and Bella leave the house and then it was quiet. I didn't mind. It gave me a chance to unpack a lot of stuff with no interruptions.

But I got bored after a while. I wanted to get out of the house, and I began to wonder if I should have taken Bella up on her offer. What could possibly exist in Forks to entertain me?

I glanced out the window, my eyes landing on my car. Bella had mentioned some place called "La Push." It sounded interesting enough. I didn't really know my way around Forks, but how hard could it be to find? It wasn't like there were that many roads in or around Forks.

It only took me twenty minutes to get to La Push because, as I had expected, finding it had been no problem, even for me and I have no sense of direction.

A few kids from the reservation were clustered on the beach, but they didn't look up as I walked past them. I headed down closer to the water's edge.

"Sarah!" someone called from behind me.

I turned and saw Jacob coming in my direction. He caught up to me in just a few long strides.

"Hey," he greeted cheerfully. He was wearing another button down shirt, but it was buttoned up halfway this time.

"Hey." I sat down on a rock and looked out at the choppy, grayish water.

He sat next to me. "You know, you never answered my question yesterday. About spending the summer with your parents."

I had hoped he had forgotten. _I _had forgotten. Not wanting to talk about it, I shot back, "You said you came over to talk to Bella, but you disappeared as soon as she showed up."

Jacob grimaced and I knew I had hit a sore spot. I almost felt bad for bringing it up when something was obviously going on between Bella and Jacob.

Not wanting to alienate the one possible friend I had in Forks, I suggested, "How about we don't bring up either of those subjects any more?"

"Okay. What is a better topic then?" His smile was beginning to return, and I knew he wasn't too upset with me,

I was quiet for a moment while I compiled a list in my head. "The weather, school, endangered animals, …food… freakish dreams…"

The last one slipped out by accident.

"…Movies," I continued, hoping that Jacob wouldn't notice what I had said. "Sports, Cars…"

Jacob wasn't fooled at all. An amused expression crossed his face. "Freakish dreams?"

Damn my big mouth. How did I let that slip? But I couldn't not tell him now.

"It's not that big of a deal, really," I tried to downplay it and shrugged casually. "I was in the woods and some humongous wolf came out of nowhere."

"Hm." Jacob looked out at the water thoughtfully.

"Seriously, that's all you have to say?" I was surprised by his reaction. "Why didn't it rip me to pieces and eat me for lunch?"

With a serious look on his face, Jacob turned his gaze back to me. "Why would it do that?"

"Um, maybe because it was a giant wolf? What is it supposed to eat salad?"

He was quiet again before he sighed and stood up. "I should go."

"Okay. See you."

Jacob was already halfway up the beach by the time the words were out of my mouth. Had I said something to offend him? Why else would he leave so suddenly?

At the rate I was going, I wasn't going to have any friends for the summer.

* * *

Later that evening, I helped Bella cook dinner. When Charlie came in, he took off his boots and hung up his gun and sat down at the table.

"Hey, kid," he said. He cleared his throat and added, "Sorry about…"

"It's okay," I told him. At least he was letting me stay for the summer.

Bella set a plate down in front of Charlie and for a couple of minutes, his attention was focused on his food. But gradually, as his plate emptied, his focus shifted back to me.

"So how was your first day in Forks?"

"I spent most of the day unpacking." I watched Bella out of the corner of my eye so I could gauge her reaction as I said, "I went to La Push, too, after I got bored. I ran into Jacob."

Bella kept her eyes on her food, but her expression gave her away. What was going on between those two?

Charlie turned his gaze towards Bella. "Jacob's a good kid."

I guessed Charlie knew, at least partially, about the Jacob-Bella situation. And if he knew, surely I could put the pieces together.

Bella excused herself from the table and stomped upstairs.

See what I mean? No friends for the summer.

* * *

**Let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here's the third chapter as promised. I continue to forge on, in spite of the lack of reviews. I do encourage you to read and review because constructive criticism is helpful, but I'll (probably) continue to write, even if you don't...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

I was in the woods again—overly green and silent, the same as it was before. But at least this time I knew what I was waiting for.

The wolf slunk out of the trees and stopped in front of me. It still didn't appear to want to eat me.

"What are you waiting for?" I asked it feeling slightly stupid for talking to it.

The wolf just kept its gaze steady on me. Those eyes! It was driving me nuts. I knew those eyes, so who did they belong to?

Instead of leaving like last time, the wolf laid down with its head on its paws. Warily (because although it didn't look like it was going to eat me, I still wasn't entirely convinced), I sat down next to it. It gave a little whine, so I reached over and scratched behind its ears. A low hum of pleasure came from deep in its throat.

This was the largest, tamest wolf I'd ever seen, not that I had seen many. If only I could figure out what it wanted.

* * *

I woke up to the sound of my alarm. I had set it to make sure that I wouldn't sleep the entire day.

Before I went downstairs, I got dressed and made sure I didn't look like a complete train wreck, just in case Edward was down there. But, Edward, to my relief, wasn't in the kitchen. Bella was still eating a bowl of cereal, though, so I joined her.

In between mouthfuls, I asked casually, "So what's up with you and Jacob?"

She focused on her almost empty bowl of cereal and slowly chewed what was in her mouth trying to buy herself time to think up an answer.

"Bella, you're a terrible liar. I'll figure it out eventually," I pointed out, "so you might as well tell me."

She scowled at me. This day wasn't getting off to the best start. "Fine."

I waited patiently for her to continue. Getting her to talk was easier than I had thought it was going to be.

"Jacob and I were friends. He wanted more, and I couldn't give it to him."

Huh. It did explain a few things. I was sure Bella wasn't telling me the whole story, but I figured I had better not push my luck, especially if we were going to be spending at least part of the day together.

"Okay," I said, letting her off the hook.

She looked relieved when I didn't press the topic.

"What's on the agenda for today then?"

As if on cue, there was a light tapping on the door. Bella got up, put her dishes in the sink, and answered the door.

In skipped a short, dark-haired girl with skin as pale as Edward's.

"Hello!" she said cheerfully to me. "I'm Alice, Edward's sister."

"Sarah," I replied wondering if she was always this happy.

"You guys ready to go shopping?" Her golden eyes were bright with excitement.

"Shopping?"

"Not here, silly." Alice laughed. "In Seattle."

A trip to Seattle might be fun, but shopping? Don't get me wrong, I love shopping, but I didn't have money to spare. But I couldn't say no and duck out of plans again. Otherwise I might really hurt Bella's feelings.

"Okay," I agreed trying to be optimistic, but knowing that I would only be window-shopping.

"Great. I'll drive." Alice jangled her keys. "Whenever you're ready…"

Bella gave her a meaningful look. I didn't understand what it was about, but lately that seemed normal. It was like everyone around here had secrets. Alice just looked back at Bella innocently, and Bella surrendered.

I put my dishes in the sink. "Ready."

Alice practically danced outside. When I saw her car, I nearly choked. I didn't know what kind of car it was, but it was canary yellow, sleek, and expensive looking.

Bella just grabbed my hand and pulled me to the car.

The ride to Seattle didn't take as long as I expected. Alice drove fast, not exceedingly fast, but I made sure I double-checked my seatbelt.

She stopped in front of some fancy looking boutique. I would definitely be window-shopping today.

When we went inside, we were overwhelmed by fresh flowers and expensive looking clothes that were everywhere. Alice looked like she could just die.

Immediately, she started pulling clothes off the racks and handing them to Bella. "Try these on," she instructed.

Bella threw me a helpless look as she headed to the dressing room. Then, Alice turned to me with appraising eyes. She flipped through the racks and pulled out a few items.

"Here." She dumped the clothes into my arms.

I stared at her dumbly.

"Try them on." She pushed me gently towards the dressing room.

Trying the clothes on couldn't hurt, I told myself. Trying on and buying weren't the same thing, after all…

As I put on the first item, a green dress, Alice called, "Sarah."

Reluctantly and avoiding looking at the mirror, I stepped out.

"It's perfect," Alice said giving me a once-over and deciding she was happy with her handiwork.

Bella nodded in agreement. "You should see yourself. Really."

Hesitantly, I turned to face the mirror. I wouldn't have called it perfect, but I guess it did look pretty good. Too bad I couldn't afford it; I didn't need to look at the price tag to know that one.

"Try on the rest," Alice prompted.

Obligingly, I tried on the rest of the clothes, most of which Alice approved of and _none_ of which I could pay for.

When Bella and I were done, Alice headed to the register. Bella followed with a few items, and I went to go put my things back on the rack.

"Sarah," Alice called again. "Come on."

I glanced at Bella uneasily, starting to blush from embarrassment. I whispered, "I don't have enough money to pay for this—for any of this."

Alice took the clothes out of my arms. "It's your _Welcome to Forks_ gift."

Openmouthed, I stared at her. There were almost enough clothes in her arms for an entirely new wardrobe. I couldn't let her pay, especially since I barely even knew her.

"Alice," Bella warned, clearly on my side.

"Oh fine." Alice pouted. "At least get the green dress."

Bella turned to me. "It'll be easier of you just go along. Chances are she'll end up buying it for you anyway."

Alice smiled at me. "It's just one dress.

Just one dress. It only would have cost me an entire paycheck. No big deal or anything…

Before I could object, Alice was handing the dress and her charge card to the woman at the register.

"Ready to go?" Alice asked, triumphantly holding the bag in her small hand.

When we arrived back at Bella's house, Alice pulled our bags of clothes and some sort of kit out of the trunk. I followed Bella and Alice inside wondering what was going on.

Alice set everything down in the kitchen table and opened her kit. The inside of it looked like a rainbow. Then, my eyes scanned the labels. All of the contents were high-end beauty products, nothing you could find at Wal-Mart.

"Sarah, you first." Alice pointed o a chair.

Bella gave me a "just do it" look. With a sigh, I sat down. It looked like I was going to be Alice's doll for the day—there was no use resisting.

Once she was done with my hair and makeup, she told me, "Go put on your dress." Then, she started on Bella. With another sigh, I went up to my room and put on the dress.

Alice was waiting downstairs for me. She gave me an approving nod. "Excellent."

Bella appeared in one of her new outfits. She looked really good. Alice was amazing.

Alice came over and gripped my hand, which was surprisingly cold, but that barely registered because I was wondering what the hell she was doing. She pulled me out to the car.

"Where are we going?" I asked suspiciously.

"You'll see," she replied in a singsong voice, her voice light and cheery despite the steel grip on my hand.

I looked at Bella for an answer, but she ducked her head. Alice opened the car door and waited for me to get in. I folded my arms over my chest. This was where I drew the line.

Alice narrowed her eyes at me. "Just get in the car." When I didn't budge, she said, "Bella?"

"Sarah," Bella said with a sigh. "Please get in the car?"

"You owe me for the dress," Alice reminded me.

That wasn't very fair. "Fine," I grumbled sliding into my seat.

Alice shut the door behind me, happy once again.

The crowd of people was making me feel nauseous. "Bathroom?"

Emmett pointed down the hall with a laugh. Apparently, everything I did was funny. I squeezed my way through the mass of people to the bathroom.

I shut the door behind me and sank down onto the cold tile floor.


	4. Chapter 4

**Please read and review! (And thanks to those who have!)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Twilight.**

* * *

Alice pulled onto an obscure road that, in the darkness, would have been next to impossible to find if there weren't strings of lights wound around the tree trunks. We drove a little further down the road and stopped in front of a white mansion.

Getting out of the car, I was so busy taking in all of the mansion that I forgot to be angry. Their house, also breathtakingly beautiful albeit a little too white, was decorated for a party and filled with people.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I demanded in a whisper.

"Alice swore me to secrecy," Bella said in a small voice. "She knows everything."

Alice gave a little, tinkling laugh like she could hear us.

"Hey, everybody! Alice is back with Bella and the new girl!" a tall, muscular guy, with dark curly hair and the same pale skin that all the Cullens seemed to share, announced making everyone's attention turn towards me.

"I would've said I was sick," I grumbled to Bella, wishing I was back in my room, hideous floral print and all.

From that moment on, I was paraded around the party meeting everyone. Normally, I'm pretty good with names, but there were so many people trying to talk to me at once, I could barely understand what they were saying. Mike, Tyler, Angela… maybe an Aaron? I was also introduced to the rest of the Cullens, and their names were easier to remember because they were uncommon—Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie.

Emmett, although he looked intimidating, was pretty nice I guess. Except that he laughed at everything I did. Jasper and Rosalie were more standoffish. Jasper looked pained to even be around me, and Alice whisked him away, leaving me with Rosalie and Emmett.

After a while, people went back to partying and paid less attention to me (part of it seemed to be because I was standing with Emmett and Rosalie). In any case, I was grateful because I was beginning to feel a little woozy.

"Bathroom?" I asked Emmett.

With a laugh, he pointed down the hall. "You look a little green."

I _felt_ a little green. Rosalie gave me a disdainful look as if to warn me not to puke on her.

I managed to squeeze my way through the mass of people, and once I was safely inside the bathroom, I shut the door and sank down onto the cool tile floor. Large crowds of people always made me nervous, and being the center of attention only made it worse.

After a few minutes, I headed back to the party, even though the wooziness hadn't completely subsided. I tucked myself into the corner at the far end of the room away from Alice, hoping that she wouldn't notice me.

I was staring out the big glass doors plotting my escape when Jacob appeared beside me.

"Hey," he said startling me back to reality. "You look…" He searched for the right word. "Great."

I shook my head. The nausea was really starting to kick in again. "Not so great."

Immediately sensing what was wrong, although I'm sure it couldn't have been hard since I was probably a nice shade of pea green by then, Jacob laced his fingers with mine and guided me through the crowd. He didn't seem to be touching anyone as he weaved his way through the mass of people. We were only a yard from the door, from my escape, when Alice blocked us.

"Where are you going?" her slender arms were folded over her chest. For someone so small, she could sure be scary. "You can't leave your own party, you know."

"Going out for some air," Jacob said evenly.

Alice eyed me for a second then stepped to the side. "Fine. But don't be too long. You're the star of the party, Sarah. People will notice if you're missing."

"Some star," I muttered under my breath. Alice glared at me as if she had somehow heard, even though it was impossible with all the noise, but disappeared back into the crowd.

Jacob led me outside into the cool night air. I took a deep breath in, filling my lungs completely before letting the air _whoosh_ back out.

"Better?" Jacob asked.

"A little bit." Just getting away from the crowd made me feel better.

Jacob let go of my hand like he had just realized that he was holding it. "So I take it this wasn't your idea?"

"Alice sort of took me hostage for the day, dressed me up, and sprung the party on me," I told him sucking in a smaller breath and letting it out. I leaned against the low brick wall that surrounded the garden. "And to top it off, Bella was completely complicit." I had forgotten that I wasn't supposed to mention Bella. "Sorry."

Jacob shrugged it off and sat on the wall next to where I was leaning. "Any more dreams?"

I looked away from him. I didn't want to have to explain it to him.

Jacob saw my face and knew. "More about the wolf?" When I didn't answer, he continued. "Maybe it isn't there to harm you. Maybe it's there to…you know, protect you or something."

"Protect me from what?" I was curious about why he was so interested in my dreams.

Before he had a chance to answer, Alice popped her head out the glass doors.

"You should get back inside," Jacob told me.

I made a face and he laughed. Being around Jacob had eliminated my wooziness.

"Are you staying?" I asked trying to sound casual. I was afraid that if he left, my nausea would return.

"Well, I was going to do some stuff," Jacob said slowly. Then, he grinned at me. "But if you really want me to…"


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter is a little short, but I'm already working diligently on the next chapter. :) And thanks to all my reviewers!!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight characters or "Scream" by Avenged Sevenfold.**

* * *

Sarah

At the end of the night, Jacob drove me home. Bella said that she was going to catch a ride home later with Edward, so it was just me and Jacob.

The drive was pretty quiet, not that I minded. The silence was a nice change from the roar of the party. I had been overjoyed when Alice had released me after most of the guests had left. Jacob did turn on the radio, but turned it back off quickly. I guess he didn't like Avenged Sevenfold's "Scream"…

He pulled into the driveway behind Charlie's cruiser and parked. It looked like he was going to walk me to the front door, which I had been hoping he wouldn't do. Not that I didn't like him or anything, but I didn't want to get in the middle of the whole him and Bella thing since something was obviously still going on, and I wasn't sure I could handle it right now either.

Oblivious to my silent signals, he walked me to the door anyway. He reached up and grabbed the key for me too.

"Thanks," I said accepting the key and trying to avoid his eyes. I didn't want to see his hopeful expectations get crushed

"No problem," he replied casually. He stuffed his hands into his pockets then took them back out again.

Ugh. I knew what was coming next. I tried to hurry up and unlock the door so I could escape inside before it happened. But, it was too late. He bent down to kiss me. I turned my head to the side slightly and he got my cheek instead of my lips. Luckily, I had been able to get the door open by then.

"Goodnight," I said quickly, retreating into the house and still not looking him in the eyes.

"Night," he mumbled, clearly disappointed.

**Jacob**

I couldn't stand being around the Cullens, but I stayed at the party because Sarah looked so desperate. That and I didn't like the way Jasper was glancing at her. I was no mind reader, but he looked like he wanted to drain her of every last drop of blood. So, I steered her clear of Jasper for the rest of the night. After the party, I drove Sarah home because the last thing I wanted was for her to end up riding with one of the Cullens, who all drove like maniacs.

On the ride home, Sarah was quiet. She looked relieved for the lack of noise, so I didn't try to start a conversation. I turned on the radio so there was some sort of background noise, though. I turned it off as soon as I recognized the song. "Scream." It made me think of what Jasper might do to Sarah if he got her alone…

When we got to her house, I walked her up to her door to say goodnight. Everything was going fine until I tried to kiss her. I know that she _purposely_ turned her head to the side. Then, she backed into the house without looking at me. It was HUMILIATING. Beyond humiliating.

I drove back to my house, trying to put it out of my mind so that when I phased later nobody in the pack would see the mishap.

The house was dark when I got back. Billy had already gone to bed. I parked the car in the garage before going for a run.

I tried not to think about Sarah, but the harder I tried the more I thought about her. Unfortunately, Paul and Jared were running perimeter and heard it all.

_Rejected_. Paul snickered.

_You're not going over to her house now, are you_? Jared asked laughing. _You're not going to try again, right?_

_No_. But I was. I didn't like the way Jasper had been eyeing her at the party. He had attacked Bella once when his entire family was around, so what would stop him from attacking Sarah?

_Aw, that's so sweet,_ Paul mocked. _Jake imprinted and now Sarah's got herself a stalker._

_Shut up, _I growled. Jasper was no joke. He didn't have as much self-restraint as the rest of his family did. _You would do the same,_ I reminded them.

They were quiet after that because they knew that I was right.


	6. Chapter 6

**Another pretty short chapter. I guess I could have combined it with the last chapter, but I kind of like it this way... For now at least. Anyway, read and REVIEW (pretty please?) And again THANK YOU SO MUCH to all the people who have reviewed!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight characters (STILL), nor do I own Coldplay's "Fix You."**

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Jacob

I stopped at the tree line at Charlie's house. I didn't want to get too close in case Sarah looked out the window. Seeing a giant wolf might freak her out a little.

Her bedroom light was still on and I wondered what she was up to. I could hear her MP3 player. She was listening to Coldplay. Her lights flicked off. I listened closer. There was another sound. Sarah was crying.

I let a small whimper slip. I couldn't believe it. I had made her cry by trying to kiss her. How sad was that? Did she really not like me that much?

_Harsh_, Paul commented.

I mentally growled at him and he shut up again.

A sweet scent rolled over me. Vampire. The hair on my hackles stood on end.

"It's just me."

I let out a breath of relief. Just Edward.

"You can go home, you know."

My mind wandered back to the look on Jasper's face at the party.

"Jasper won't be a problem. He's being supervised," Edward told me. "Apparently, Sarah's blood is a slightly lesser version of Bella is to me."

Well, that made me feel better. Like I was going to go home now.

"Just thought you should know," Edward murmured as he started walking around the side of the house.

What was he doing here anyway? Then it dawned on me. He was sneaking into Bella's room, like he'd probably been doing every night. I wasn't the least bit jealous.

_Wait._ There was one more thing I wanted to know.

He knew my question without me having to directly ask it. Edward was around the side of the house, and if I didn't have such sensitive ears, I wouldn't have been able to hear him. "I can't hear her thoughts. She is a lot like Bella it seems."

I gave a little snort. Her looks, how she appealed to a vampire, her ironclad mind, and, oh yeah, the ability to crush my heart with a single word.

Ever since the moment Sarah had looked up at me after she dropped her house key, when I had looked her directly in the eyes and imprinted, she had an iron grip on my heart. She just didn't know it.

Sarah had only been in Forks for a few days, and I didn't want to totally creep her out. That's why I'd been trying to hang around with her as much as possible, why I had coincidently showed up at the party.

But, I had probably blown it all now. I mean, I made her _cry_. I had never made a girl cry like that before.

Sarah's quiet sobs subsided after a few more minutes, and her breathing deepened and slowed as she drifted off to sleep. Her MP3 player was still playing Coldplay songs. I wasn't for sure, but I thought it might be "Fix You."

I laid down on the ground to get comfortable for the night. Even if she didn't like me back, I couldn't help the way I felt about her. Somehow, I would fix this. Even if it meant just being her friend forever. Anything as long as I could be near her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Please read and review, as always!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight characters.**

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**Sarah**

"Are you okay?" Bella asked during breakfast the next morning.

My eyes were bloodshot and I looked like a mess, but I lied anyway. "Yeah, I'm fine."

See, I may look like the tanner, green-eyed, golden brown-haired Bella, but I can lie. I can lie my way through just about anything, and Bella can't lie about anything. Not even something as simple as why she was late to school.

The phone rang, preventing Bella from asking me any more questions. She answered the phone and listened for a second before holding out the receiver to me.

"It's for you."

"Who is it?" I whispered.

"Jacob," she mouthed back.

Great. If I didn't answer his call, Bella would know something was going on. If I did answer his call, I would have to talk to him about last night.

I sighed inwardly and grabbed the phone from Bella, who stepped back a bit but watched me with interest.

"Hello?"

"Hey." Jacob sounded hopeful, obviously relieved that I had taken his call. "Um, do you want to hang out or something?"

I hesitated. Bella was still watching me.

"Just as friends," he added quickly.

"Sure."

"Great. Do you want me to pick you up or…?"

"Why don't I meet you at the beach. Give me, like, half an hour."

After I hang up the phone and slide back into my seat to finish eating my cherry Pop-Tart, Bella asked, trying to sound casual, "So you and Jake are getting along pretty well?"

"Yeah." You know, except for the little incident last night.

"Oh. That's good."

Was it just me or did I detect a hint of jealousy in Bella's voice? Why would she have cared unless she liked him? "Um, Bella, do you have something you want to share? Maybe something along the lines of 'I have a thing for Jacob'?"

"I do _not _have a _thing_ for Jacob," Bella protested. Her words said no, but her expression said yes.

"Bella, remember that talk we had about you being a terrible liar?"

"I don't like Jacob. We're just friends," Bella said, although it sounded just a little bit like she was still trying to convince herself.

"Right." I couldn't believe that she was getting cold feet. Especially not when she was getting married to EDWARD.

"I'm being serious, Sarah. I'm in love with Edward."

She was telling the truth about the last part, being in love with Edward. Still, that didn't mean that she didn't have any feelings for Jacob… Not that I was going to do anything with Jacob that would end up making her jealous. Because me and Jacob could only be friends, too.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry, this took so long. Had a major case of writer's block. Anyway, leave me a review if you please. And go to my profile to vote on my poll, please!

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**Jacob**

I leaned against my car trying to play cool, but I was beginning to wonder if Sarah had changed her mind. It had been over half an hour, and getting closer to the forty-five minute mark.

I let out a sigh of relief when I saw her Dodge Neon coming down the road. Embry and Quil were around on the beach, and I didn't want them to see me being stood up. That and I was worried that I had completely wrecked everything with Sarah.

Why was everything so difficult with Sarah? I mean, for Sam and Emily, things had just fallen into place on their own. It was the same for Paul and Kim. And of course, things were easy for Quil because he had imprinted on a two year old who didn't know how to do anything but love.

Every time it seemed like things were going good, it was like Sarah cut herself off.

"Sorry I'm late," Sarah apologized, getting out of her car.

"No problem," I replied with a little shrug. I was glad that she was here at all.

Quil and Embry had already spotted Sarah and were headed our way. They hadn't met Sarah yet. They'd only seen her in my thoughts. I hoped they wouldn't embarrass me in front of her or let something "slip" by, you know, accident…

"Hey," Quil greeted, a smile spreading across his face.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Embry asked grinning and nudging me with his elbow.

"Sarah, this is Quil and Embry," I said wishing, futilely, that my friends would disappear. There was no way they would miss this.

"Hey," Sarah replied, looking slightly amused. Great. Just what Embry and Quil needed. Encouragement.

We started walking down to the beach.

"Jake, have you invited her to the bonfire yet?" Embry asked.

"No." I shot him a glare over Sarah's head.

Him and Quil thought that I should tell Sarah about the pack and the Cullens. Even if I wanted to tell her—not that I did, right away anyway—inviting her to the bonfire wasn't a great idea. Some of the younger ones, like Brady, were still learning to control phasing and ended up popping out of their clothes often, especially when they were being provoked by Paul. Sarah would probably pass out if she saw them phase.

"Well, since Jake hasn't invited you, how would you like to come to the bonfire tonight?" Quil asked Sarah, ignoring the scathing look I sent in his direction.

What were they trying to do? Help me or kill Sarah?

"It'll probably be boring," I said because as much as I wanted to be around Sarah, it was more important for me to protect her. "Just some old guys telling stories. You'll probably fall asleep."

"He's exaggerating. It won't be that bad," Embry promised.

"Actually, I've got some stuff to do. Wedding stuff," Sarah said quickly.

"Can't it wait?" Embry prodded. "I'm sure Bella would understand."

"I'd love to, really, but I _promised_ her. I've already cancelled on her a few times, and she'll freak out if I do it again."

"It's okay," I said relieved. I added, hoping that Embry and Quil would get the hint to drop it, "There will be other bonfires. Right, guys?"

"Yeah, maybe next time." Quil looked disappointed.

My friends wanted Sarah to know everything. Maybe once she understood she would want to be with me. That way they would stop feeling my pain when we were all phased.

I planned on telling Sarah everything—being a wolf, imprinting, vampires.

Eventually, anyway.


End file.
